Baa Ha Baa

Well, it's time for another dam vacation. And by that I mean, we are currently cruising along in the Atlantic Ocean on a cruise ship named Maasdam. She's an older ship, built in 1993 according to Maintenance Man Delphine. And until about 10 minutes ago, really earned the bonus “n” at the end of her name.

Our stateroom – and therefore we – have been in a maritime version of menopause since we boarded yesterday. Truly, it feels like days ago. Hot and cold, hot and cold. Thanks to many phone calls to “At Your Service” and air temp guns and a screwdriver and a wrench and a swiftly played game of “Good Cop, Bad Cop” (you guess who was who), Rob and I are now the relieved stewards of a brand new thermostat. Yay us! Now we can begin our vacation without distraction or blankets or damp wash cloths.

We started out in Boston yesterday and concluded that since we aren't on an expense account, we don't really dig hotels that cater to business travelers. Scoffing at $16 hamburgers and $10 Internet access fees at the airport hotel, we spent a good part of our pre-cruise evening wandering about Logan airport in search of better values. We scored with free wi-fi in a hot dog place named after an old Red Sock. Demy-something.

The next morning, an old friend and one of his adorable young daughters met us for breakfast. We hadn't seen the friend since he became a dad. It was a remarkably natural fit for him. As for his 5-year-old daughter, well, we fell in love with her as she tried to hide her disappointment that the kids puzzle menu was all word games. She gave it her best shot but then sighed and surmised, “These will be easier when I learn how to spell.”

We boarded the ship in time for lunch and then rebelled at dinner. Annoyed that the temperature in our room was close to 80 degrees and nobody was in any hurry to be at our service, we broke the “Smart Casual” dress code and showed up in our jeans. It turns out that simply wearing pants and no terrycloth hair scrunchies put us ahead of the game. We were happily served mixed berry soup, pork ribs, and prime rib without snarky fashionista comment.

We spent today in the rain in Bar Harbor, Maine. And yes, the rhyme is intentional. We gave ourselves what turned out to be far too much time to wander about town before our 2 hour bus tour in and about Acadia National Park.

Bar Harbor is a quaint town filled with tiny shops catering to cruisers. Nearby Seal Harbor is home to Martha Stewart and David Rockefeller, reportedly in separate cottages. We strolled in the rain and snapped up a delightfully tacky “Santa Claws” tree ornament made from a mostly clean lobster claw wearing a Santa hat and googly eyes. After completing the circuit and avoiding the remaining shops filled with moist tourists bumping into each other and fogging up the windows, we skulked about the ferry terminal in search of what was promised to be free wi-fi. We finally found it in a corner in the back on the dock. One spot. We hunkered down and got a quick update on our kittens and shoes for a wedding. The Spot was later occupied by a different laptop when we happened by after our bus ride.

Word about Acadia National Park was “...the main reason to visit the park is not really to do anything. The view from Cadillac Mountain...is magnificent.” See for yourself:


So now we're back on our ship, with a new thermostat and a half-written nastygram to the cruise line's customer service department. The forecast for tomorrow in Halifax is rain. Of course. And for 6-9 foot swells tonight. I packed plenty of Dramamine. A few years ago a friend told us you either get a good vacation or a good story. This is now our travel mantra. Stay tuned to find out which one we get this time!